LINKIN PARK's JOE HAHN Says It Was 'Very Natural' For EMILY ARMSTRONG And COLIN BRITTAIN To Be Part Of Creative Environment For 'From Zero' Album

In a new interview with Lollapalooza India, LINKIN PARK's longtime members, co-lead vocalist and producer Mike Shinoda and DJ and video director Joe Hahn, spoke about how the band's latest additions, singer Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain, a songwriter and producer for G FLIP, ILLENIUM and ONE OK ROCK, affected the songwriting process for LINKIN PARK's comeback album, "From Zero", which arrived in November 2024 via Warner. It marked LINKIN PARK's first full-length effort since 2017's "One More Light", which was the last LINKIN PARK album before singer Chester Bennington's death. Joe said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think a big part of what makes us 'us' is when we're in a room, usually at Mike's house in his studio, before we even make the music, we're hanging out. We're talking about life, things that we're interested in and something that's bothering us and kind of sharing experiences with each other. And sometimes that'll drive towards a topic or it might drive towards a feeling of a type of vibe when we start writing. It always comes from a different inspiration, but it really comes from like a collective… We get to the point where we're excited to just try new things. And I think that's really where Emily and Colin came in to that environment that we always have, and it was very natural for them to be part of it. So I would say a lot of that has to do with our friendship as well as the skills that we bring."

Mike added: "Yeah, I think that was — to Joe's point, the chemistry, the dynamic, that was something that just kind of showed up over the course of days and then weeks, and it was the thing that drew us to them versus whatever other options we could have been thinking about. 'Cause in the beginning of the new album, we weren't necessarily thinking, like, 'Okay, now we're gonna restart the band and then we're gonna go do shows.' It was really just the question of, do we feel compelled to like get together and make stuff and be creative? And is it fun? Does it have energy that'll go forward? And that was just between us, the original members. And then once that started happening and it was the first time there was real momentum, and then Emily and Colin came in separately and then together, and it all started happening. And part of it, the thing that's so nice is they have their own versions of the story of how they relate to the band. Emily had some formative years of when she was learning to sing, [LINKIN PARK's debut album] 'Hybrid Theory' was one of the albums that she was listening to a lot and how she sang 'One Step Closer' and it was the first song she had ever really screamed on. And then Colin, even when we were in the studio working on this record, he sometimes would switch gears from producer mode or songwriter mode, he'd switch to fan mode, and I could see it happen. I'd just be playing something and I was, like, 'Why is that exciting to you? Why is that a good part?' And he could tap in to fan mode and be, like, 'Yeah, the thing I like about LINKIN PARK is this thing.' And so it was a really good asset to have in both cases."

LINKIN PARK introduced its new lineup during a September 2024 live performance event, with Armstrong and Brittain joining Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell and Hahn. LINKIN PARK also released a new single, "The Emptiness Machine", and announced "From Zero".

Regarding what it has been like working with Emily and Colin, Mike told Futuro in an October 2025 interview: "It's been awesome. When they were coming into this era, this chapter, they were already so prepared, they were so ready for it. They just hadn't done it. I mean, Emily has played for — I don't know how many [years], like 10 years or more with DEAD SARA. Colin was in multiple bands before he got into producing and writing with other people. And when I met Colin, I could tell that we had a lot of similar ways of looking at music and similar ways of thinking. I was just writing and producing stuff with him, and all of a sudden he got behind the drum kit and I was, like, 'Oh my God. He's an amazing drummer.' And as it turned out, Rob [Bourdon], our previous drummer, he didn't wanna keep playing. So that was almost just like good luck for us that we knew a guy already that that was so great. Emily is a total phenomenon. For us to find a once-in-a-generation voice like Chester and then to find another one like Emily is crazy. It doesn't make any sense."

Asked how he knew Emily was "the one" when it came to finding a replacement for Chester, Mike said: "Well, it's not just the singing, 'cause there's thousands and thousands of great singers out there. And when I worked with people, I've had a bunch of experiences where I worked with lots of different singers who are so talented and I've played shows with lots of singers who are so talented, but there's an an intangible thing that happens when people get in a room and they make things together, and you just feel like the vibe is so effortless and strong and easy. It's easy to hang out with each other. Even when you have differences of opinion on something that you're making or something that you're doing, it doesn't turn into arguments. Nobody's killing the energy, the vibe. And that was the experience we had with Emily and Colin. But as we were starting to make music a couple of years ago, we just found ourselves wanting to do more with them because they were so fun to hang out with and we would always make such good stuff together."

Shinoda went on to say that he and his LINKIN PARK bandmates had no expectations that "From Zero" would turn out to be a commercial success. "When we're making things, we're not thinking about hits," he explained. "That's not part of our process at all, really. First and foremost, we wanna love what we're doing, we wanna love playing it every night, we wanna feel like it artistically represents an important chapter for the band and that we're proud of where it sits in our catalog. And that's been the way we've approached things every time since the beginning. There are, of course, moments when it's, like, 'Okay, well, the label wants to release a single,' so you have to do marketing and you have to do promotion. And I totally enjoy doing that stuff. I love making surprises and scavenger hunts. Like the timer — in the beginning of our launch [for the new era of LINKIN PARK], we did a timer [on the band's web site] that counted down to zero and then the fans expected something to happen and it didn't happen; it just bounced back up and started… It went to 3, 2, 1, 0 and then it went 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and they were, like, so mad. But they realized later, the album is called 'From Zero'. The whole point was this is an actual marking of something that's gonna start at that point and go on until whenever. It's not just a countdown to something happening and then it's over. So the process of doing these things, the creative process, making things and sharing them with people, that's an everyday thing for us. I don't get too caught up in numbers and comparisons, unless it's like just checking in to see, like, 'Oh, do people like it? How are we doing with the fans in terms of maybe the show. Are fans excited about the show?' And so far the tour has been so much fun and such an undertaking and it's a lot of joy every night, I think."

At the first first show of LINKIN PARK's "From Zero" tour in September 2024 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, Shinoda addressed the band's new chapter while reflecting on LINKIN PARK's return to the stage. "I mean, that's part of why we're back out here," he said. "We are thrilled to be back out here. It is not about erasing the past. It is about starting this new chapter into the future and coming out here for each and every one of you."

"From Zero" featured the No. 1 single "The Emptiness Machine" and propelled LINKIN PARK to be the only rock band in 2024 to exceed two billion streams. "From Zero (Deluxe Edition)" was released in May.

Delson contributed to "From Zero", but hasn't been part of LINKIN PARK's live shows in support of the LP. The live guitar position has instead been filled by Alex Feder.

Photo credit: James Minchin III (courtesy of Warner Records)